Tracking

October 2009

October 31, 2009

I wrote about the Californian water wars just a few days ago and so I was interested to see the article from the San Fransisco Chronicle that says that a plan has been put together to address the problem. the plan will cost $9.4 million to implement. The article states that:

"Water for 24 million people in California - about two-thirds of the state's population - flows through the delta system, which has a series of levees and canals at great risk of failing in a natural disaster such as an earthquake. The plan has several parts, including the creation of a Delta Stewardship Council that would have broad oversight of the delta and the ability to approve a peripheral canal. It would lead the effort to restore the delta and improve the state's water supply. Additionally, the plan would mandate a 20 percent reduction in urban per capita water use by 2020, though there may be exceptions for cities including San Francisco that have aggressive conservation practices. Also included are groundwater monitoring and increased penalties for illegal water diversion". Follow the link to read the full article.

October 30, 2009

I wrote just a few days ago about the problems with food supply in North Korea. BBC News has reported that South Korea has offered to come to North Korea's aid. South Korea has offered about 10,000 tons of corn to North Korea and 20 tons of milk powder and medicine for children, pregnant women and other vulnerable people. Read the article in full by following the link.

October 29, 2009

If only tackling the void between what the world population wants to consume and what the planet can deliver was this simple. If we removed a range of food providing animals from the planet what would be the environmental justification for pets?

The Independent carries an article about an interview with Professor Stern ahead of current climate talks. The reduction in the impact of humans on the planet will be addressed by social measures and accepting responsibility for the food we eat is one of those social measures, as well as, reducing the waste we produce, and also looking at the way we support the human population in the lives that people strive for whilst making sure that we can provide that with best use of natural resources. The solutions require empathy and understanding for individual and community motivations and effective communication with the message delivered by people we believe in and trust.

The challenges will be met not just product labelling, but by a two-way discussion on nutrition and health and well-being all of which is addressed by a balanced and varied diet. I have written about the barriers to this many times including the transition of diets across the world to dairy and meat based diets and the limiting access to vitamins due to the cost of fruit and vegetables. In the UK, I can buy ten apples for around £4 or a kilogramme of blueberries or I can buy 5kg of dried pasta - if I am on a limited income which will I choose?

There are a billion people who are vegetarian through necessity, because they can't afford meat, in fact they don't have secure access to food period. This is a complex mesh of issues which will be addressed by a multilayered approach and I believe will ultimately succeed from a ground up not a top down movement.

October 28, 2009

Euractive.com has published an article on the looming crisis with regard to GM animal feeds in the EU.The article states that the European Union must decide within the next few weeks about whether it will allow imports of soy with small traces of other genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). It all depends on whether Europe will approve a range of currently unapproved GM products that are destined for animal feeds. As more of the world converts to using GM seed this is going to become more of an issue for the EU with their precautionary principle approach.

October 27, 2009

BBC News has reported that the Ethiopian government has asked the international community for emergency food aid for 6.2 million people. The article states that:

"The request came at a meeting of donors to discuss the impact of a prolonged drought affecting parts of East Africa.
The UN's World Food Programme says $285m (£173m) will be needed in the next six months. Some aid officials say the numbers of hungry could rise.
Aid agency Oxfam has called for a new approach to tackling the risk of disaster in the country."

It makes me think of the saying - History does not repeat itself just revolves ... I remember as if it was yesterday the Live Aid concert even though it was actually a quarter of a century - sobering thought.

October 26, 2009

This time of year in 2007 I was in California on my Nuffield Scholarship studying water and finding out about the Delta Smelt. I was interested therefore to see this article in The Economist about the continuing battle over water, fish, and who will ultimately control this valuable resource.

October 25, 2009

The Guardian has reported that a recent UN report has noted that almost 9 million people in North Korea were suffering from food shortages. The article also stated that the World Food Programme (WFP) was able to reach fewer than 2 million of the hungry population due to a shortfall in international aid as countries cut funding in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests. Click on the link to read the full article.

October 24, 2009

Today President Barack Obama has declared the current H1N1 flu outbreak a national emergency. This means that officials can now have more leeway in addressing the emergency. BBC News reported that last week US officials stated that swine flu activity was widespread in 46 states and that more that 1,000 deaths have been linked to the virus.

The Guardian reports today that in Britain the number of people dying after suffering from H1N1 flu had risen from 106 last week to 122 – 93 in England, 15 in Scotland, eight in Northern Ireland and six in Wales.The number of cases of swine flu in England almost doubled this week to 53,000. The vaccination programmes have still to get underway in both countries.

October 23, 2009

The FAO has announced that: "faced with rising world hunger and unacceptable poverty and in response to calls for greater coherence and coordination, members of the FAO Committee on World Food Security (CFS) have agreed on a wide-ranging reform."

"This reform aims to make CFS the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform dealing with food security and nutrition and to be a central component in the evolving Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition. The CFS reforms are designed to focus the Committee's vision and role on the global coordination of efforts to eliminate hunger and ensure food security for all. This includes supporting national anti-hunger plans and initiatives; ensuring that all relevant voices are heard in the policy debate on food and agriculture; strengthening linkages at regional, national and local levels; and basing decisions on scientific evidence and state of the art knowledge". Follow the links to find out more.

October 20, 2009

I wrote some time ago about the incident in China where over 1000 children tested positive for lead posioning. BBC News reports that 15,000 residents who live in about 10 villages around China's biggest lead smelter in Jiyuan are to be relocated. Toxic emissions from the plant have been blamed for poisoning the children. The report states that the children were moved away last week, and now the local government says a total of 15,000 people will be relocated. The cost of the move will be borne by the lead company. The factory will keep operating, with its owners leasing the land surrounding the plant from the farmers, and setting up an exclusion zone for nearby villages.